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Firelight and Fairy Tales |
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Norah was not enjoying being pregnant. At first it had been okay, a lot of excitement and a bit of worry but otherwise it had been okay. Of course dozens of mornings waking up puking her guts out and intense mood swings would probably damper anyone’s mood. There were little moments- like when they first heard the heartbeat or when the baby kicked- that made the whole ordeal worthwhile but overall Norah just wanted the baby to be born. No more overprotective Russell, no more going to the bathroom every fifteen minutes, no more people touching her stomach. God, Norah couldn’t wait for that day.
The young soon-to-be mother was sitting on the couch in their living room, the lights dimmed as a fire roared in the fireplace. A large medical textbook was balanced expertly on the translucent skin of her stretched stomach. She had been on maternity leave for a week now as her due date neared and she missed her job as a doctor horribly. Nor didn’t know what she’d do now that she was going to be a mother, but she figured she’d face that challenge when it happened. Right now all she wanted to go was read her book and drink the hot cocoa Russ was supposed to be bringing her.
“Russ?” She called in a sing-song voice
“Noorahhh?” Came the response in a similar tone.
“What are you doing in there?”
“Making Hot Chocolate for my wife.” Russ responded with some strain in his voice. Which wasn’t a good sign considering it was followed by a crash and a string of curses that would make a sailor look innocent.
“Russ? What happened?” Nor asked, shifting the blanket off her legs to move to save her husband from his war with their kitchen appliances.
“Nothing! Don’t get up. Stay there.”
Norah settled back down and flipped open her book once more, trying to ignore how uncomfortable she was since the baby loved to move around when Norah relaxed. The woman brushed back a strand of red hair from her eye, glancing ever so slightly to the door where Russ was carrying a tray of Hot Cocoa in one hand and a large book in the other.
“What did you do to our kitchen? It sounded like War of the Worlds in there.”
Russ chuckled, “I’m sure one day our kitchen appliances will learn to love me. “
“Mhmm.” Norah replied absently, folding over the corner to mark her page and holding out her expecting hands for the steaming cup of Cocoa.
Russ handed her the cup carefully before moving to sit underneath Norah’s legs, setting his own cup on the end table and rubbing her swollen ankles carefully.
It was still a shock to see how much Russ cared for her, even after all these years. Norah always thought that he would get bored and leave her eventually but there he sat, loving her just as much as when they first started going out. It was amazing, meeting his green eyes, because when she looked into them all she could see was complete adoration and love. And Norah had no idea how he could look at something so broken and be in so much love with it.
“I have an idea.” Russ finally broke the silence and Norah raised an eyebrow at him, imploring him to continue. “I think we should read to him.”
“Him?” Norah asked, resting a protective hand on her belly. They decided against knowing the sex of the baby and Norah liked to argue over the gender, knowing that if it was a boy or a girl she couldn’t be happier because it was Russ’s baby and he would love it no matter what.
“Okay, her.” Russ rolled his eyes, “But my mom said she used to read me fairy tales when I was, ya know, in there. And I think it sounds like a good idea.”
“Really, Russ?” Norah asked, trying not to sound annoyed. Reading to a baby that probably couldn’t hear sounded ridiculous.
“Yeah, babe, it will be good for her-or him. I mean look how I turned out!”
Norah glanced to her husband, the smile plastered to his face as he held the book out to Norah. His black hair fell messily in his face and he looked like a total goofball, not a father, and Nor wasn’t sure how she felt about her baby ending up like her husband, no matter how much she loved him.
“Okay, maybe I wasn’t the best example, but just one.”
Norah gave up, resting her head against the plush cushions of the couch and closing her eyes before mumbling her agreement. Russ leaned over to kiss Norah’s cheek happily before kissing the exposed skin on her stomach and settling down to read their child a story. He cleared his throat and brushed back his hair. Norah peered out as snow fell gently outside, the lights sparkling on the frosted window. She was sure nothing was more perfect than the moment, with Russ’s soft voice beginning to spin a fairy tale heard a million times. Her eyes slid closed, images taking over her mind as her husband started,
“Once Upon a Time, in a land far far away…”
 X-Misunderstood Dreamer-X · Sat Feb 11, 2012 @ 05:24am · 0 Comments |
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